COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) — How does a quick visit with your doctor at the grocery store or your corner pharmacy sound? It could be the future of medicine for treating common illnesses, and a Central Ohio man came up with the idea.

It’s called Healthspot and you check-in at a kiosk like you’d check-in for a flight or visit an ATM.

“We’ve checked in and now the attendant is going to guide you in and have you sit in the seat,” said Lisa Maughan, Vice President of Marketing for Healthspot as she showed NBC4’s Ellie Merritt how the new kiosks work inside a Dayton Rite Aid Pharmacy.

Healthspot looks like a booth, is private, and you can dial up a doctor or nurse practitioner to diagnose and treat common illnesses like sinus or ear infections, sore throat, a rash or poison ivy.

It is definitely not for major medical issues or emergencies, such as chest pain, broken bones or bleeding, but can diagnose and write a prescription in minutes and keep patients from having to sitting in a waiting room for hours.

After an attendant gets your blood pressure, you dial up a doctor or nurse practitioner through the Cleveland Clinic.

“Hi, I’m Peter. I’m a nurse practitioner up in Cleveland,” said Peter Jeong who popped up on the screen inside the booth.

Think of it as skyping with your doctor, but with all the tools around you including a stethoscope and magnascope with cameras, so the doctor or nurse practitioner get a detailed view of your ears, eyes, nose or skin just as if you were in an exam room.

“And it’s live streamed, so I’m seeing it as it is happening in real time…it’s best for ear aches, pink eye, cough, upper respiratory infections and sinusitis,” said Jeong as he showed Ellie Merritt how to use the instruments to view her ears.

Maughan says the attendant is always there to wipe down the equipment, replace covers on the instruments and sterilize everything between patients.

Right now, Healthspot is in 25 Rite Aid pharmacies in Dayton, Canton, Akron and Cleveland, but the founder, a Central Ohio man, wants these in Central Ohio by the end of the year.

“I want this as common as red box,” said Steve Cashman who came up with the idea after a bad experience trying to get his daughter treated for swimmer’s ear on a Saturday.

Cashman went home, sketched his idea on a napkin, and developed Healthspot.

“I just thought of what a consuming experience and unfriendly experience that was,” said Cashman who has taken the Dublin, Ohio based company from an idea to 65 employees in just four years.

Healthspot visits are covered by insurance, or you can pay the $49 charge on the spot.

Cashman says his goal is to get 10,000 Healthspot kiosks in locations across the country, and this could be a game changer in how we treat common illnesses that always seem to strike at the most inconvenient time.

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